5 things I love about where I live

Jack is one of the many people I've met since moving to Round Lake. His dog, Jasmine, is as sweet as she looks. (Photo by Cindy Schultz/Times Union archive)

For this week’s giveaway, I asked readers what they like most about where they live. Now it’s my turn.

I live in Round Lake, a village north of Albany. In a story my colleague Tom Keyser wrote a couple of summers ago, one resident described it as “like something out of Mayberry.” I’ve heard that, too. Here are five things I like about living there:

1.The sense of community: Round Lake was originally a Methodist camp, and many of the houses (Victorians with colorful gingerbread trim) are close together. If you value space and privacy and the typical suburban experience, you might be happier elsewhere. If you love urban life, the same might be true. Round Lake has a library, post office, collectibles store, auditorium and one semi-fancy restaurant. That’s about it.

I grew up in a rural area and am OK with a slower pace, though, so village life appeals to me. It also seems like a fun and safe place to be a child. Our neighbors’ kids run back and forth between their yards and play hopscotch in the street, and parents stop to chat over their respective strollers. I’ve met a lot of people while walking my dog, too.

No one has a mailbox. Instead, the village post office houses old-fashioned P.O. boxes. On Saturday mornings, the front steps are dotted with neighbors catching up as they pick up their mail.

The Night of Illumination is one of the village’s biggest events. Every June, everyone strings colorful lanterns in front of their houses, then meets for a potluck on the lawn in front of the auditorium. After the eating and drinking, there’s a lantern-lighting ceremony inside. Children sing songs and wave American flags. Then everyone turns on their porch lights, walks around the village and admires their neighbors’ handiwork.

At some point during the singing and flag-waving, Mark turned to me. “Round Lake is the kind of place where you have to check your cynicism at the door,” he said. That it is.

Round Lake's library (Photo by John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union)

2. Our neighbors: You can’t always pick your neighbors, which is why I’m so grateful to have mine: young couples with kids and dogs, the kind of people you can grab a beer or sing karaoke with at an impromptu potluck. I feel safer knowing they’re around.

4.The things I didn’t expect to see: Two girls sometimes herd a pair of geese across the park in front of our house. Another tools around on a kid-size Vespa. And I’ll never forget the winter night I was walking Bandit on the bike path and saw a single headlight bearing down on us from the darkness ahead. I stepped aside just in time for a team of sled dogs to sweep past.

5. It’s OK to use a clothesline. Considering how many communities prohibit them, I consider this a really good thing. Round Lake appears to be ahead of the curve on at least one important environmental issue.

One last funny story: When I meet someone for the first time and they ask which house I live in, I describe it to them. (The village is so small, you can figure out pretty quickly where someone lives.) The response is usually the same: “Oh, the rental.” Our neighbors rent their house, too, but I think of us now as The Renters. Apparently we’re a big improvement over the last tenants, who once had a drunken argument in the street. And just wait until you see our flower boxes in full bloom this summer.

13 Responses

Wow, what a great rundown. Makes me want to live there! Are there any good online resources for investigating communities in the Albany area? It would be great to see a rundown on what areas are attractive to different demographics, like young single professionals, families, retirees etc.

@Katy: Better idea: We can house-swap. I’ll take your place in Portland for two weeks, and you can come here and have all the drunken brawls you want to in Round Lake! But if anyone asks, I don’t know you, OK?

I’m not sure if the bikes are locked, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t. The library has also taken a bunch of books and CDs off my hands. That’s one of my contributions to the community.

I do love Round Lake. I’ve been there for the antique shows and just imagine how dreamy it must be without (the antique show)!
Naomi, You’ve been here! While living here, on a farm with land, isn’t for everyone, it works for me/us. I love everything about it and all the seasons….and the shhhh, quiet, except for the roosters, but their crowing is music to me. I do worry about the future, though. The land across the street will eventually be developed. That thought puts a rock in my stomach.

Round Lake is a very unique community. Cool having a lake right across the street. Did you know that the state stocks Tiger Muskys there. One of the only places outside Cosseyuna. These fish can reach 5ft in length and 40plus lbs. They are fresh waters top predator. If you have any small children, I wouldn’t dangle their feet over the side of the boat. Never caught one, but if I did, I’m sure it would be a wall hanger.

Cities have their downsides, but often have some really nice neighborhoods, too. We live off upper Union Street in Schenectady and love it. It’s quiet, affordable, leafy and really walkable, which is huge for us. We walk to the grocery store, the library, the barber, the bank, the park, the pet store, various restaurants – you name it and we may have walked there. We’ve even walked downtown, but that was quite a trek! For us, living somewhere (suburbia) where you have to get in a car every time you need something would be a real drawback.

This is a good exercise for me, because I live in Grafton, and about Feb/March the winter has been toooooo long & I want to live anywhere else. So, in no particular order, 5 things I love about Grafton are:

-Grafton is about 2,000 ft up on the Rensselaer Plateau, which makes our seasons outstanding. We actually have all four, unlike when I drive down to the rest of the Capital District & the seasons are mostly “brown”. There is nothing like Grafton in the summer, and we have the best foliage around. Because of our elevation, we pretty much always have snow in the winter. If it’s going to be cold, I want some snow to go with it. This is especially true since I am an avid snowshoer. Plus, our elevation makes our seasons about 2 weeks behind the rest of the CD, so we get to enjoy everything a little longer!

-The STATE PARK. My husband & I are constantly hiking, running, fishing or swimming in the park. Again, due to our elevation, our flora & fauna is more similar to the Adirondacks than the rest of the CD. As a born & bred Adirondack girl, I consider this a major bonus. Plus, the park beach is consistently rated top in the Capital District & if you know where to park you can get in for free. Oh, and the Dyken Pond Environmental Preserve is also in the Grafton Town limits & is another outstanding nature preserve.

-The blueberry patch — acres & acres of wild blueberries ripe for the picking if you know where to look.

-The small town atmosphere. When I go to the post office, town store, town offices, etc, they know who I am. I like that. I also love that we live less than a mile from our best friends and less than three miles from their parents, whom have taken us in as their own.

-Grafton is quite eclectic — million dollar lake houses, hippies in yerts, farms, families who have lived there for generations, new construction & faces, and a Peace Pagoda, of which there are only two other similar ones in the world.

-All right, let’s make that 6 — all that within 20 minutes to downtown Troy (I LOVE Troy), 30 to Albany, Bennington, VT and Williams, MA!

Oh, and we can use clotheslines too (in fact, most people do); the whole town smells like woodstove in the winter; and there are no restrictions on gardening or livestock, so a lot of families have them & value living off the land.